gsjackson wrote:I think you're giving them too much credit in saying they embrace science like a religion. It's more of a status symbol for them. They think they know more than most people about these theories, and that allows them to feel superior. Tocqueville noted about Americans in a letter to his father in France that they were always looking for some little degree of status that provides them a perch from which they can look down upon their neighbors. Nothing has changed in 175 years.Adama wrote:Apparently to verify the nature of the universe and the big bang, a person has to dumb things down, and use visualization. This is what theory consists of. Einstein having some daydreams about the nature of light. Instead of just opening their eyes to believe what they can see, they trust in fancy explanations that defy reality and rely upon fantasy.
And they don't think God's Word is true. Instead, God only talks in parables and apparently not so many of His Words hold true meaning for these people. So just like the ancient Romans, they have a god for everything. God is the God they pay lip service to. But truly they believe in science as God. That way science will allow them to believe in other gods. So essentially they are free to do as they want without giving God the glory for His Creation.
And part of the status conferred is the self-belief that they are intellectually bold by refuting traditional religious beliefs. There's an interesting letter from one of the early exponents of evolution in 19th century England that says something like regardless of how persuasive evolutionary theory is or isn't, the intellectuals will lap it up because it allows them to feel superior to the masses and their religion.
I don't think these guys really believe this shit. They don't even think about it on that level. It's part of the little status garment they put on each day, and by God nobody's going to rip a hole in it.
BTW, I just watched Neil deGrasse Tyson supposedly debate someone about whether the moon landing took place. He actually made one sort of substantive argument -- just enough fuel to go to the moon and back was put into these rockets. Not sure how he knows how much fuel was put into the rocket, so he's responding to people who are arguing that NASA lies about everything by telling them to accept something NASA has said. The rest of the 30-minute "debate" was just the gasbag's usual attitudinizing about how the culture could have produced people ignorant enough to disagree with him.
Wise in their own conceit. Pride. Ego. Self-exaltation. Boasting themselves in mischief and spite. Swift condemnation for those who disagree. Mocking, insulting, slandering and condemning. This is self-exaltation.
I have noticed in my life, that there are a lot of people who don't even care about the facts, just as long as they get to oppose you, your point of view, your beliefs and your opinions, just so they can glory in oppression; for that feeling of victory, turning everything into a debate so they can win. Swiftly everything must be turned into a competition of words for their self glorification, and somehow winning through ridicule is a valid victory.
Some of these can't even limit themselves to the argument at hand. They attack the person, while they think they are the better person for doing the attacking. But any other time they are very wary of ad hominems (but maybe that too is just a deflection for when they begin to lose, they can accuse the other person of doing what they do best).
And as for the arguments themselves, they are pure fantasy. How is fantasy correct? Yet they think the Bible is fiction, but they trust in the fantasies of other men, which they call theories. Especially because, these fantastic theories can't even be reproduced except for inside their heads.
Their religion violates its own precepts with great frequency. Most of it can't be reproduced in any way, which is a fundamental violation of the most fundamental precepts of science. Yet somehow this goes overlooked. None of their beliefs even line up and they don't support each other. Neither is there a real foundation. It is just fantasy, built upon fantasy, mixed in with ridicule for the unbelievers. It's a snowball of lies and fantasy.
You can even look at Einstein's theories of Relatively and you can see, it's just fantastical nonsense, supported by the mathematics of the self-esteemed wise men. And whoever doesn't understand or whoever questions them or their false religion, receives more condemnation.
People don't even realize that battery is when you actually hit someone, but the assault is done with words. Everything must be turned into war or competition (debate) so they can win, even if it is an unfair victory. This also reveals the integrity of the person, when you see how low they are willing to go just to feed their egos the glory of victory.